ONE DAY WITHOUT SHOES - April 9th

Dear JES family and friends,

ONE DAY WITHOUT SHOES

Our 4^th annual shoe drive for the Buckner Foundation is April 9^th! Shoes for Orphan Souls is the largest humanitarian aid project of Buckner International, a global ministry dedicated to making life better for orphans, vulnerable children and families since 1879. Visit the website shoesfororphansouls.org to find out why shoes are important to hundreds of thousands of needy children. This is a wonderful opportunity for our children to give back. When the new shoes line our hallways it a visual reminder of the importance of sharing what we have with others.

 

April's Character Trait - PEACE
PEACE is the character value for the month of April. The definition proving you care more about each other than winning an argument.

KINDERGARTEN PREVIEW - April 23rd
Kindergarten Preview at JES is happening on April the 23^rd  from 5-6:15. This is an opportunity for prospective kindergartners to visit the classrooms at Johnson Elementary and meet the teachers and staff.  If you have a child who will be five years old by September 1^st, 2015, plan on visiting this fun event. Be sure and tell your neighbors and friends about our Preview, too. We invite all eligible kindergarteners and their parents to come!
As always, if I can assist you in any way, please call.

Kindest regards,

 Ziba Johnston

JES Counselor

LOVE and LOGIC

Dear JES family and friends,

Happy New Year! Welcome back and a special welcome to all of our new families. We are happy to welcome seven new JES Dragons along with their families. It is a challenge to move during the school year. I hope you will make them feel welcome and include them in activities that will help them get involved in our school and community.

 

Thank you for your generosity throughout the holiday season. Our Angel Tree program is a blessing to many of our families. It is such a joy to be a part of it! Our Johnson families are kind and generous beyond measure. Even in these times when no one’s money seems to stretch as far as it has in the past, our families showed great concern and care in making sure that the children in the JES family had a nice holiday.

 LOVE and LOGIC

There has been interest expressed in having Love and Logic Parenting classes. If you are interested in attending classes, please contact me via email at Elizabeth.johnston@southlakecarroll.edu . For more information about the Love and Logic philosophy visit www.loveandlogic.com .  Look for more information in the coming weeks about a class forming.

 Our character trait for January is COMMITMENT: making a plan and putting it into practice. We will be discussing the meaning of commitment and what that looks like during our guidance lessons and announcements this month. I hope you will take time to talk with your child about the benefits of COMMITMENT. Your children are looking and listening to you, more than you know.

As always, if I can assist you in any way, please contact me.

 

 Kind regards,

Ziba Johnston - Mrs. J

JES Counselor

Angels of Generosity

Dear JES family and friends,

December's Character Value - GENEROSITY

What a perfect time of year to talk about the character trait: Generosity. Our Core Essentials definition is making someone’s day by giving something away. In talking with our students it is evident that they know quit a bit about generosity both as givers and receivers.

JES ANGEL TREE

Our emphasis this month will be on the benefits that we all receive as we practice giving. On that note, there are many opportunities for generosity right here at JES!  In the JES office there is an Angel Tree for students and staff member’s children. Choosing an angel is a wonderful opportunity for our students to recognize the needs that others may have during the holiday season. Thank you to all who have chosen an angel. Your wrapped, labeled Angel Tree gift should be returned to the JES office by Friday, December 12^th. It is amazing when we work together what we can do to help others!

 

COLLECTING FOR HOLIDAY FOOD BASKETS December 9th-12th

Another opportunity for generosity is our traditional Holiday Act of Kindness for December - to collect a dollar from each student and staff member to purchase gift baskets for our Custodians and Cafeteria staff. We will be collecting money December 9th - 12th. The baskets will have holiday food items and a gift card to make purchases for their holiday meal. Of course, we will accept any additional contributions as well. There are 8 food baskets to fill. Thank you ahead of time for your generosity!

 

A high five goes out to the JES Choir students for collecting money for the Buckner Children’s Home. The children lead us in wonderful ways along with help from their tireless leader Becky Sewell. Great job!

 

The winter holiday can be stressful for children as well as their parents. Take time to care for your child’s needs for a healthy diet, rest, and exercise. And remember that your love, your time, and undivided attention are the greatest gifts that any child can receive. In the classroom, your children tell me that the best thing that we have to share is love. They are very wise.

 As always, if I can assist you in any way, please call.

Kindest regards,

 

Ziba Johnston/Mrs. J
JES Counselor
Elizabeth.johnston@southlakecarroll.edu

GRATITUDE

Dear JES family and friends,

 Thank you to everyone who helped to make Red Ribbon Week fun and informative for our children. A big thanks to the Harding family for decorating our school in RED. Sean, Courtney, Houston and Hayden Claire have taken this on the last two years as a family project. Thank you also to Kim Franks and Tracy Lentz for their help with the many preparations for the “Dogs of Character” assembly and Fire Safety Visits. You are so very generous with your time and your help is greatly appreciated. Thank you to our PTO for funding the “Dogs of Character” assembly.



Mrs. Chapman's class donating their canned goods to GRACE

The" I Believe I CAN" drive was a great success! GRACE expressed sincere appreciation for the generous contribution. The Ambassadors loaded the items to send to the food pantry on Friday. Thank you to all who contributed.

Thank you to Officer Womack for arranging the Southlake Firefighters’ visit for Kindergarten -2^nd grade students. We also appreciate having Renni Burt, Community Initiatives officer, meet with our 3rd and 4^th grade students to emphasize having a Home Fire Escape Plan and to discuss general personal safety. It was an informative day. Has your family designated a location to meet outside of your house in case of fire? Ask your children about suggestions they might have.

Our Core Essential character value for November is GRATITUDE which is defined as letting others know you see how they’ve helped you. We will be talking about GRATITUDE on the announcements and in guidance lessons. Gratitude is an important character value and can easily be reinforce at home.  Working together, we can help our children learn to recognize the quality of the feeling that accompanies showing appreciation.

 We will be working on multiple projects throughout the year to give our students opportunities to “give back”. Research shows that when children (and adults) give they in turn have positive feelings that lead to a greater sense of self-worth. Giving promotes cooperation, social connections and gratitude. And research has found that gratitude is integral to happiness and health. Here are a couple of opportunities for our students to get involved in the experience of giving.

 Gift for Buckner

All JES students are challenged to “earn” a dollar to donate to the Buckner Foundation which is being collected by the JES Choir. The money will be presented to the foundation during the winter holiday concert.

 ANGEL TREE

Our traditional angel tree will be decorated in the front office before we leave on Thanksgiving Break. Each year, we have our own Angel Tree to provide for children at Johnson Elementary.  If you are able to help, I hope you will choose an angel and make it a family project of showing gratitude and compassion for those families at Johnson who can use our help.

 BASKETS OF THANKS

Our Ambassadors of Kindness will be leading us in a collection for holiday food baskets for our cafeteria and custodial staff. If we each contribute a dollar, we can give them a nice basket and gift card to show our gratitude. They do so much for us around our campus and we celebrate the opportunity to show them our appreciation.

Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) and Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS) were completed for second and fourth grade students. Make ups are complete. The results will be sent home around mid semester.
 

As always, if I can assist you in any way, please call.

Kindest regards,

 Ziba Johnston

Counselor
Elizabeth.johnston@southlakecarroll.edu
817 949 4500
Giving connects two people, the giver and the receiver, and this connection gives birth to a new sense of belonging.” Deepak Chopra

October's Character Trait CREATIVITY

Dear JES family and friends,

October, as always, is shaping up to be a busy one! Our character value for this month is CREATIVITY defined as: using your imagination to do something unique.  I hope you continue to use the Core Essentials character trait to spark discussions that lead to reinforcing the value CREATIVITY.

 CogAT and ITBS Testing for 2nd and 4th Grades

On the 14^th, 15th, and 16^th of this month our second and fourth graders will be taking the CogAT test. The Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) measures students’ learned reasoning abilities in the three areas most linked to academic success in school: Verbal, Quantitative and Nonverbal. On October 21^st, 22^nd, 23^rd both second and fourth grades will be taking the Iowa Test of Basic Skills or ITBS. Although the CogAT’s  primary goal is to assess students’ reasoning abilities, it can also provide predicted achievement scores when administered with The Iowa Tests. There is no special preparation you need to do at home for these tests. What you can do to help your student is make sure they are rested and present at school on time on testing days. Check your calendar and make sure that you have not scheduled doctor appointments during these days. Testing will take place during the morning when the students are fresh.

A parent letter was sent home this week about the upcoming tests that should address any questions you might have about the actual test and its purpose.   Of course, as always, if you have additional questions, please contact me.

 RED RIBBON WEEK - October 27th-31st

Red Ribbon Week will be celebrated the last week in October. This is a district wide drug awareness celebration.  We will kick off the week with an assembly entitled “Dogs of Character” provided by our JES PTO. Each day of that week we will emphasize the benefits of leading a drug free lifestyle. Please take advantage of this opportunity to talk with your children about making good decisions. It’s never too soon or too late.

If I can assist you in any way, please contact me.

Kindest regards,

Ziba Johnston
Counselor
Elizabeth.johnston@southlakecarroll.edu

Welcome Back to 2014-2015 !

Dear JES families and friends,

Welcome back to both returning and new families! There is exciting activity going on in preparation for the 2014-2015 school year. I hope that you have had a wonderful summer and a great first week of school. Teachers, staff and students are going to be Discovering and Sharing our Talents at JES this year!

Newcomers’   Welcome Coffee  in the JES Library On Thursday, September 4th, join us for an informal gathering to welcome the newest parent members to the Johnson family. That is new families to CISD and all kindergarten parents.  Dr. Rene Moses, our new Assistant Principal, will be on hand so you can officially welcome her, as well. If you are new to Johnson Elementary School, drop by the JES library from 8 to 9 on Thursday morning and let us welcome you personally.  All JES parents are invited to come to the coffee to help welcome these newest members to Johnson Elementary family. We hope to see you there!

Through our Core Essentials program we will be emphasizing the Big 3 which are:    

Treat Others Right

Make Smart Decisions

Maximize Your Potential

Our character trait for September is RESPECT defined as showing others they are important by what you say or do. Our JES PTO is generously sponsoring our Core Essentials program again this year. If you are interested in more information about our character education program go to www.coreessentials.org .  When you discuss these important values at home it reinforces their importance. Invite your child to share what they have learned at school about RESPECT. When we work together at school and at home “great” things are possible.

It is not unusual for students to be tired and “out of sorts” the first few weeks of school. The change in their sleep and meal routines alone may cause stress and then when you add on the expectations of school - it is understandable that most children will react. If problems persist or are more extreme than you feel is typical for your child, talk with your child’s teacher and/or contact me. If we can do anything to help you or your student, please let me know. You can email or call to schedule an appointment.
Kindest regards,

Ziba Johnston

JES Counselor

817 949 4500

Elizabeth.johnston@southlakecarroll.edu

HAPPY SUMMER!

Dear JES family and friends,

 Summer has arrived and Texas and I are off for summer break. Tex is spending a lot of time in the pool and under the trees relaxing. We are enjoying the rain!

 Summer is a great time for children to read simply for pleasure. Newly emerging readers tend to regress in the summer, so keep up the reading activities. Fun reading for parents, if you haven’t already started following, is the blog “We are THAT Family…you know the ones”. I highly recommend it. A great introduction would be reading the June 15^th, 2014 entry. The title of the entry is Dear Children: Let Me Explain This Thing Called Summer. With a little humor, the blog addresses the so called boredom of summer days.  The blogger (Kristen) has some good thoughts about summer – “ the days that aren’t fun usually end up being the best ones of summer.” You can find it at wearethatfamily.com.

 I will be back from summer break on August 11^th.  I will be checking email regularly, if you have a concern don’t hesitate to write.

Enjoy the break and Tex and I will see you in August!

Kindest regards,

 

Ziba Johnston

JES Counselor

Elizabeth.johnston@southlakecarroll.edu